Seattle Department of Transportation
FIRST HILL STREETCAR PROJECT QUARTERLY REPORT
4th Quarter 2014
Submitted January 2015
Scott Kubly, Director

 4th Quarter 2014 Activities & Issues
Schedule Objectives and Milestones
The construction of the project infrastructure is substantially complete, but some minor
activities continued in the 4th Quarter of 2014, including signage and striping changes to 8th
Avenue S, Lane to Dearborn, to implement one-way southbound operations; installation of
streetcar identification signage at the platforms; and some “punchlist” corrective work by the
overhead systems contractor.
Budget and Expenditures
Life-to-date project expenditures through 2014 totaled $125,715,025. To address a portion of
the expected funding shortfall that was identified and explained in the Third Quarter 2014
report, the Council approved $2.54 M in additional funding for the project in the 4 th Quarter
Supplemental Budget, bringing total project funding to $135,315,934. SDOT has also identified
Traffic Signal betterments in the range of $400,000 to $1,200,000 which may increase total
project funding through a budget transfer, pending review of Signal Operations budget
balances; as of this report, no budget transfers for these betterments have been assumed.
Total Funding from Sound Transit
City Funding--4th Quarter 2014 Supplemental Budget
Pending Budget Transfer--Traffic Signal Improvements
Total Funding

132,780,000
2,535,934
135,315,934

Life to Date Expenditures

125,715,025

Remaining Costs to Complete:
Vehicle Payments/Sales Tax/Inspection Costs
(Liquidated Damages)
Construction Contract Payments
Direct Costs (Allowance)
Subtotal, Cost to Complete

8,169,744
(323,025)
2,580,000
750,000
11,176,719

Potential Additional Funding Required

(1,575,810)

This cost to complete projection assumes that SDOT will incur additional costs for vehicle
inspection, oversight and commissioning as a result of the vehicle manufacturing delays
described below, and also assumes offsetting liquidated damages assessed against the vehicle
contract price. It is important to note that there remains uncertainty and risk in the projection
of construction contract payments.
Unresolved issues related to the closeout of the construction contract include:
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 



An unresolved claim by the utilities subcontractor requesting additional compensation
as a result of “inefficiencies” in the work. The general contractor has responded that
there is no entitlement to this claim, but has not been able to reach agreement with the
subcontractor, and may ultimately seek to pass a portion of this claim on to the City;
Open issues related to the systems subcontract. The subcontractor has submitted
requests for additional compensation for extra work incurred earlier in the project. This
subcontractor has not achieved substantial completion and the City may impose
liquidated damages.

SDOT’s projection of remaining construction project payments reflects expectations for the
settlement of these issues.
Public Involvement
Stakeholders along the project corridor are eagerly awaiting the start of operations and want to
maximize the potential for the launch of service to bring attention to their neighborhoods with
a variety of opening events. These stakeholders have formed a “streetcar launch committee”
to brainstorm ideas, raise funds and plan for events.
SDOT initiated the public comment period to establish fares for the First Hill Streetcar (as well
as adjust fares for the South Lake Union line as of March 1, 2015). Consistent with Council’s
authorization, the streetcar fares will be consistent with Link Light Rail fares within the center
city.
Traction Power Substation Procurement
SDOT directly procured the traction power substations that will provide DC power to the
streetcars. These substations have been installed and commissioned, and training for King
County Metro Power and Facilities staff was completed in the 4 th Quarter. Final adjustments
associated with train testing will be completed after streetcar delivery.
Vehicle Procurement
Vehicle production reached a significant milestone in the 4th Quarter with performance testing
of the first completed vehicle, but the schedule for completion of all six vehicles remains a
major project concern, as progress continued to be slower than projected by the manufacturer.
During the 4th Quarter, there were no major production setbacks, but wiring continuity
testing—checking the connections of about 5,000 wires that connect vehicle systems and
control—encountered a fair number of mis-wired connections that took several weeks to
diagnose and correct. Commissioning of the major systems, which requires support from the
system suppliers on site at the factory, could not be scheduled until the wiring continuity
testing and corrections were completed. The manufacturer had projected in September that
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 first vehicle would be delivered to Seattle in December 2014, but the performance testing was
delayed until December, so the delivery to Seattle has slipped to February 2015. Also of
concern, while the pace of production on four cars in the Czech Republic was efficient, progress
on three cars in Seattle was limited, largely because the manufacturer lacked sufficient staffing
to provide oversight and support at both manufacturing locations. The manufacturer
submitted an updated schedule showing the sixth car delivery in June 2015. SDOT has rejected
that schedule and requested a revised schedule to allow service to begin by May 1; the
manufacturer is currently working on revisions to the schedule and staffing plan to try to meet
this milestone.
To provide oversight of vehicle production, SDOT’s vehicle consultant hired an inspector who is
fluent in Czech and has been on site full time throughout the 4 th Quarter. SDOT’s weekly video
conferences with the manufacturer continued. As noted in the 3rd Quarter report, a constant
inspection presence can contribute positively to the pace of production, and enhances SDOT’s
awareness of any issues that could be affecting progress and to press the manufacturer to
address those issues. Despite these efforts, vehicle production is still a source of uncertainty in
the schedule for operational startup.
SDOT is addressing the delays through daily production meetings with the manufacturer that
include staff at the Seattle, Prague and Ostrava locations. SDOT is supported in these meetings
by LTK Engineering and Shiels Obletz Johnsen (SOJ). LTK provides inspection, daily reports from
the manufacturing locations, and independent assessments of required durations and staffing
levels, drawing on their experience with other streetcar and light rail projects in the U.S.
(including all Portland and Seattle vehicle procurements). SOJ has provided project
management services, including vehicle procurement oversight, for all phases of the Portland
Streetcar, including vehicles from the same Czech manufacturer. SOJ was recently added to the
SDOT team to advise on strategies to increase the responsiveness and recovery plan efforts of
the manufacturer.
As of late January, the status of the seven cars (six for the First Hill line and one for the South
Lake Union line) was as follows:
Completed/In Transit: One car has been completed and tested in the Czech Republic and is
now in transit to the Port of Tacoma, due to arrive February 12. (The vessel location is tracked
updated periodically at http://www.vesselfinder.com/?mmsi=248223000; as of January 29 the
vessel was approaching the port of Savannah, Georgia.) An ongoing labor dispute is currently
affecting the pace of off-loading cargo at West Coast ports, which may affect the date of arrival
at the Seattle facility.
Final Assembly in Ostrava, CZ: Three cars are in final assembly. One of these is substantially
complete and is scheduled to begin commissioning the first week of February; the other two
are estimated to be three weeks and six weeks from commissioning, respectively.

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 Final Assembly in Seattle, WA: Three cars are in final assembly at the Streetcar Operations and
Maintenance Facility at the City’s Charles Street maintenance campus. SDOT is working closely
with the manufacturer to finalize the schedule for these cars.
Operations Planning/Startup
Metro has started hiring some key staff such as vehicle maintenance workers to prepare for
startup, but is also mindful of the vehicle delays, and therefore adjusting the hire date for some
staff positions to minimize down time.
Key Issues in the Coming Quarter
SDOT anticipates the following issues continuing in the 1st Quarter of 2015:


Funding: SDOT the 4th Quarter Supplemental Budget ordinance closed a large portion of
the projected funding gap, and a budget transfer to recognize traffic signal betterments
completed by the project may address most of the remaining gap. However, there
remains some uncertainty to the final cost at completion given some unresolved
construction claims and the additional costs to provide continued oversight of the
vehicle procurement.



Vehicle Procurement: SDOT will continue to monitor critical path milestones, report on
progress, and stay in constant contact with the manufacturer to ensure they are
maximizing their efforts to expedite the remaining production activities.



Operational Startup: King County Metro is in a lead role and will continue hiring staff in
the 1st quarter of 2015; SDOT will provide support for integrated testing and safety
certification, and will be in a lead role for public information. Uncertainty about vehicle
deliveries remains such that SDOT cannot reliably predict an opening date at this time.

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